Loving LaLa Land’s New Edition

Los Angeles is a fabulous city, we all know that. But when you visit, it seems almost impossible to find a super sleek and luxurious place to stay. Almost always, you wind up staying somewhere in the outskirts of the city, in another surrounding city or town. And sure, there are some great places to stay in those areas but when you want to stay in the thick of the action, where do you really go? What places, if any, are up to par with your posh amenity standards? Until now, the options were extremely few and far between. Now though, choices have opened up, your options have fully broadened. On February 15, the Ritz-Carlton LA will open its ritzy doors to the public, offering fabulous comforts and assuming the title of the very first luxury hotel to open in downtown Los Angeles.

The hotel is actually a subsidiary of Marriot International which is why the JW Marriot Los Angeles at La Live will also be opening on the same date. The two hotels are both located in the same building, a magnificent tower, literally and figuratively acting as a cornerstone to LA Live, the extravagant $2.5 billion sports and entertainment complex that is said to re-create downtown LA. The Ritz-Carlton LA encompasses 12 floors and features 123 guest rooms, 14 of which are suites. There are also 200 residential spaces, three of which are penthouses. Both guests and residents receive the standard Ritz-Carlton fabulousities, i.e. gigantic flat screens, terrycloth bathrobes, 24-hour in-room dining and concierge services, and my personal favorite, the in-room shopping services! But it gets even better-the 23rd floor features a 3,400-square-foot club for all of your partying needs. And the 24th floor is comprised of a lobby lounge, a private dining room, and a wine cave. So if you need me, I’ll be propped up against a barrel of pinot noir somewhere deep in the cave, deep in my wine-infused haze. The 26th floor features an outdoor pool with breathtaking panoramic views of all of Southern California as well as a state of the art fitness center and spa. Leave it to the Ritz-Carlton to always offer the best of the best.

The JW Marriot is the larger of the two though, taking up 17 floors and featuring an impressive 878 guest rooms. The hotel contains meeting rooms, a full-service restaurant, a cocktail and coffee bar, and a fourth floor outdoor rooftop pool and bar.

With all of these tremendous offerings, it doesn’t look like we’ll be having any troubles deciding where to stay from now on when visiting LaLa land. But as I implied earlier, I’m a bit more partial to the Ritz-Carlton because of the wine cave. Sounds like a vino lovers dream come true. Sign me up!